


The UnWritten Chapter

by A_C_Dalon



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Behavioral Analysis Unit (Criminal Minds), Crimes & Criminals, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Humor, Missing Persons, Mystery, Original Character(s), Post-Haley, Romance, Season/Series 05, mentions of child abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2020-10-12 00:23:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20555165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_C_Dalon/pseuds/A_C_Dalon
Summary: Aaron Hotchner, in his time of grief, takes the time to return to what existed before now. When the BAU wasn't famous, well-funded, or even respected. When their most formidable members were a grade-A asshole and a class-A criminal and he was just a stick up his ass probie. He takes the time to return and solve the biggest mystery of his career.





	1. The Ones We Don't Talk About

It had been seven months and three days since Hailey Hotchner was killed by George Foyet in Hotch’s home. He had been dealing with the stress and grief as well as anyone might. His attention was equally divided between his son and his work and sometimes that equal division wavered one way or another. Mourning takes a lot out of someone. It takes their spirit and their drive. Sometimes, it makes them forget how to keep on going. But Hotch? Hotch had been doing okay. He was focusing on work and his team was keeping a close eye on him.

Especially Penelope Garcia.

It was so early in the morning and Penelope was just updating files and sipping her nonfat soy latte with double the whip cream and double on the expresso. It was another mindless morning and she was trying to take this moment of peace to take care of all the form work she missed in the past week. It was a dull day to say the least. They had closed a case last weekend and nothing but consults had come in. Like I said- dull.

***Ping!***

Penelope’s computer went off on the other side of the room and she slid over in her swivel chair with a coffee in hand. “That’s weird…” She mumbled to herself, immediately putting down her coffee to clack away at her computer. She zipped through cyberspace in confusion. It seemed that Hotch was opening up old case files- closed, solved case files. Penelope’s eyebrows knit together in a way that could rival Derek Morgan. She continued to type away, collecting a full list of the files that Hotch was opening up- “Oh my-!” She gasped under her breathe.

Hotch had opened up at least 50 closed and solved case files in the past three days. Concerned and obviously curious, Penelope opened some of them- trying to figure out what her boss was up to. They were all old BAU cases that preceded most of the current members on the team. The case had a lot of names in common, even some that Penelope didn’t recognize. Of course she saw her boys all over these cases: Jason Gideon, David Rossi, and Sir Aaron Hotchner. Some of them even had FBI photos of a young trio of men when they were just Special Agents and not Supervisory Special Agents. One picture, however, caught her eye more than the others. It was a picture of Aaron Hotchner, younger than Penelope had ever seen him and smiling in a way that was so rare, Penelope could attest it as a miracle.

Hotch was very reserved, you see.

In the picture was a young Aaron Hotchner in the car laughing with another young woman next to him. It looked as though Hotch had said something funny to make the girl laugh and he had succeeded. She had an opened mouth laugh as she put a hand on her chest and the other on his shoulder, throwing her head back with a smile. She had long red hair, sharp eyebrows, and high cheekbones. Her smile was beaming and in the frame of this picture at least, Penelope thought she was absolutely beautiful- a happy smile in a piece stolen from time. The picture made her smile and personally, Penelope thought he looked like an Aaron more than a Hotch in this picture.

She clicked through the picture to get the details and descriptions.

_SA Bramente and SA Hotchner driving back from case in Atlanta with SSA Max Ryan and SA David Rossi_

An Agent Bramente had also been mentioned in all of the case files. “Bramente…” Penelope mumbled under her breathe in confusion. She had never heard that name before. She opened up the Active FBI database and typed in the eight letter word.

No Matches.

Her eyebrows knit together once more, “But she’s a special agent. Even dishonorable discharges are in the database.” The mumbled danced under her breathe as she delved deeper and deeper into the database- going so far as to authorize and unlock on closed files. Penelope did the search again, confident that she’d soon be able to clear her curiosity.

Access Denied.

Higher Clearance Required.

Penelope let out a yelp in shock. Higher clearance? Penelope was about as high clearance as it gets around here. Her ego, a little bruised and offended, paused for a moment to take a breather and weigh her options. On one hand, she could very easily override the access requirement and move on her merry way. On the other hand, Penelope wondered if it was worth stirring up Hotch’s well-tempered but terrifying anger. It wasn’t. So she went to the next best thing.

* * *

“Is there an active case on the BAU or a Special Agent Bramente that I don’t know about?”

Chocolate Thunder, Derek Morgan, looked up from his work in confusion at Penelope’s question. He was the only one in the bullpen right now. JJ was in her office while Prentiss and Reid were out on a consult. His eyebrows furrowed at his best friend. “Not that I know of. Whose Agent Bramente?”

“I don’t know!” Penelope hissed under her breathe as she took a seat in front of Derek to explain the situation. “This morning I got a ping about unusual activity on Hotch’s computer. I set up alerts in case we’re hacked again or someone is doing weird mumbo jumbalaya on the computers. It makes me nervous so I need to be on top of thing here!”

Derek laughed under his breath, “Okay, momma, okay. You’re on top of things. Now get to the point, whose Agent Bramente?”

Penelope cleared her throat as she leaned down to whisper. “That’s the problem! All of these files that Hotch is opening has all familiar names on them except for hers. Then, when I tried to look her up in the database- it said I needed a higher clearance and denied me access.”

Derek had to resist the urge to shrug, “Babygirl, I thought you could override that restriction?”

Penelope nodded and rolled her head, having already gone over that solution in her head about ten minutes ago, “I could but it’s Hotch whose been opening up those files. I’m worried but I don’t want to break Bureau rules if (a) it makes Sir Hotch angry and (b) if Sir Hotch does not have my back.”

She had a point. Even Derek had to admit it. He shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head, “Alright… So I guess we gotta go to the next best thing.” He paused shortly before motioning to the open office door next to their Unit Chief’s office. The door that read SSA David Rossi.

* * *

Penelope walked in with her head held high and her feet stomped the floor with determination. Rossi's attention was completely captured and seasoned with annoyance. He was in the middle of reserving his spot at the annual cigar convention in Washington. Behind Penelope, Morgan followed and he made sure to close the door behind him- both of them looking as though they were up to no good and feeling an over arching level of guilt about it. Rossi often wondered what it was like to have children and then in moments like these- he really didn't.

“Hello.” He greeted shortly, “How may I help you?” He asked motioning for the two very curious agents to sit down. Two agents who looked curious and off kelter of sorts.

The moment they sat down, Penelope burst out, “Whose Bramente?”

David looked as though he had just been slapped the face the moment the name came spilling out of Penelope’s mouth. His eyes widened slightly and his mouth was ajar, “W-Where did you hear that name?” His face began to boil up in anger, “Who told you that name?” He demanded in a voice a little too harsh than intended. Penelope jumped back out of instinct and Derek tensed up.

“Woah-Woah! Rossi, calm down.” He raised a hand between the three of them, “Garcia was just checking out activity and noticed that Hotch was pulling up a lot of cases involving a Special Agent Bramente.” He explained slowly as Rossi began to lean back into his seat, his shock coming down to normal level again.

Penelope shifted in her seat, “And then when I went to check out who she was- it said I had restricted access. I didn’t want to override the block, especially if Sir Hotch is the one working on it….” She paused for a few moments, trading glances with Derek. “And then I found a picture-” She stood up and slide the printed out photo onto his desk. The one of a smiling Agent Bramente and young Agent Hotchner. “It… It said that you were there when the picture was taken.”

Rossi picked up the photo and smiled fondly, “She probably slipped this photo in the file as a joke.” His voice fell upon a whisper as he looked at the photo. “I’m pretty sure she was the one who turned it in.” His smile was nostalgic- as though he was being encased in the soft warmness of better times.

“Whose Bramente, Rossi? And why is Hotch looking at her old case files?”

Rossi looked up at Derek then to Penelope and then to his closed door. He pulled open the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a large stack of papers pinned together. Words had been inked out and time had weathered down the pages. Rossi ran his fingers across the lettering and the title with a sigh. “Special Agent Carolina Bramente was a former agent of the BAU.” He looked up to face Morgan and Garcia. “She’s dead. She’s been dead for seven years.”


	2. Enter: Carolina Bramente

Rossi picked up the chapter and handed it to Morgan who read the title out loud. “Special Agent Cara Bramente: Missing in Action” Morgan’s eyebrows furrowed, “Missing in Action? You just said she was dead.”

The older man nodded, “Well she was declared dead but as a team, we could never really accept that. The bureau had given up and they couldn’t fund a ‘goose chase’ anymore as they called it. Cara was already a liability. They wanted her gone and when she was missing, they were glad. You have to understand, we didn’t have the funding, the technology, or the backing to look for her. When they closed the case, we couldn’t do anything other than comply.” Penelope listened intently but Derek was still confused.

“Alright, but who was she, to Hotch? You said it’s been seven years. Seven years is a long time to hold onto a hunch.”

Rossi’s eyebrows furrowed for a few moments, “To Aaron… Cara was everything.” He leaned back with a sigh as though he was reaching back into his mind, trying to find where exactly he could find the story or perhaps... he was just looking for the perfect place to start it. After a few moments he finally began, "It was 13 years ago, before either of you joined the BAU, we were just starting out with the idea of using teams and we were still called the BSU. It was me, Jason, Katherine Cole, with Max Ryan leading the team. We had just taken on Aaron to the team- back then he was still called probie." 

Morgan looked shocked that Aaron ever answered to 'probie'.

* * *

“Probie!” Agent Rossi called across the room. They were in the police bullpen of Chicago 1 Police Plaza. A young, optimistic agent jogged across the room to David’s side as they inspected the file in his hands. He had short brown hair and believed that he could change the world with the work he was going to do here. He believed that he could really make a big difference. Agent Rossi estimated that this sort of optimism would die within the next two weeks. Unit Chief Max Ryan believed it would only take one. They called him probie but his name was Aaron Hotchner. The kid was cocky and quick to please. Of course he did good work but good work was expected in this unit. Here, you needed to do more than kiss ass.

Here you needed to pull your weight.

This was Aaron's very first case with the BSU and it was not an easy one. There was a murderer going around Chicago. They were targeting members of the mafia. Killing them, stringing them up by their feet, and bleeding them out at significant mafia establishments. It was probably the goriest that Aaron had ever seen. Rossi was tasked to stand by his side, rubbing his back while he threw up on the other side of the street behind a tree. They were lucky they arrived at night and there was no press on the scene. The mafia seemed to be very good at things like that.

The kid was still new blood. SWAT and the Seattle field office hadn't prepared him for things like this. Honestly, in Rossi's opinion, nothing ever could. These things came with time. He'll get on his own feet eventually.

Still, Aaron was feeling a little bruised in his ego so he had been overcompensating all day. He walked to the middle fo the bullpen, organizing charts and helping out everywhere he could. He wasn't experienced enough to take the lead on any profiles or interviews, but he was doing his best. Max Ryan was by Aaron's side guiding him through what they had already collected.

Suddenly- on the other side of the room, the front doors to the bullpen flew open with a huge force. They slammed into the walls- creating holes in the wall where the door handles were. She had a deep scowl etched onto her features as she stomped into her room. Rossi still remembered the way Cara looked that day. She was pale and had a very small frame. Long waves of bleached blonde hair tied back into a looped bun with strands fall around her face. Deep dark eye bags collected underneath dark brown eyes and her cheeks were red with rage. You didn't need to be a profiler to tell that she was pissed.

The chief of police approached her, "Ma'am, I'm gonna need you to-"

She grabbed him by the collar and front lapel, throwing him over her shoulder and slamming him on the desk. Officers jumped back, too stunned at the amount of strength in a woman of her... stature. Aaron got over his own initial shock first and tried to reach for his gun. Ryan placed a hand in front of his wrist, preventing him from such actions.

The woman growled to the man she had just slammed into the desk. "I'm gonna give you three seconds to tell me where the hell you locked up Orion Bramente and I'll give you three minutes to free him! You! Ungrateful, pompous piece of shit!"

"Ma'am!"

All heads turned to see Aaron stomping towards the woman. Both of their faces looked to be reaching the boiling point of anger, "I don't know who you are or who let you in here- but Orion Bramente is the chief suspect in an ongoing serial murder investigation. We don't just-"

"Carolina Bramente. Orion Bramente is my adoptive father. Those three serial murders were my god brothers." She seethed at Aaron, cutting him off promptly. She then turned her attention back to the chief of police. "And you! Orion has protected this precinct for years! He called off cop killings for you and this is what you do! This is how you thank him!" She growled, shaking him roughly, occasionally slamming his head back into the desk receiving a grunt of pain every time.

"The police didn't arrest him."

The woman stopped shaking the officer.

"We arrested him."

Carolina slowly released her grip on the officer. Holes where her fingers had gripped him. Her voice was level but visually, she was ready to explode. "Who is we?"

Aaron stepped closer so he was towering over her. His arms crossed over his chest, "We're the Behavioral Science Unit with Federal Bureau of Investigation and you are interfering with a federal investigation."

Carolina looked up at him. Her eyes roaming over his body from head to toe. She looked as though she was sizing him. Debating on whether or not she could throw him over her shoulder too. Aaron was at least a head taller than Carolina and then some, but she had also just thrown a full grown man aside so really no one knew what she was capable of. When he told her she was interfering, Carolina rolled her eyes. She placed a hand square on his chest and pushed him away. Aaron had been standing two inches in front of her resulting in her having to look up to look him in the eye. Her neck hurt and it made her feel smaller than she was comfortable with. She managed to get him at least a foot away but she could still smell his body wash and the bargain brand vanilla detergent he used to wash his black suit. Her fingers rolled over his pectorals and trailed down his abs. Aaron didn't flinch from her touch. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of a flicker. He held her gaze in a collection of tension filled seconds. His onyx black pupils boring into pools of honey brown that shined in the remnants of sunlight. Neither of them were planning on yielding.

But Carolina blinked first. She let out a sigh filled with annoyance. "He spends five minutes at the BS Unit and suddenly he's a hot shot. Calm your tits, boy scout." She growled as though there was a threat hidden in her teeth. Her hand fell from Aaron's chest and he felt a sudden coldness on his chest. She then spun around, "Ryan! Where the hell are you!"

* * *

A few minutes later, Max Ryan was able to usher Carolina into an interrogation room. It succeeded in muffling their screams and yells. Everyone was a few volumes quieter as they watched SSA Max Ryan receive a verbal beating on the other side of the oneway mirror. Carolina kept poking him in the chest whenever he tried to defend himself. Max was keeping his voice level but every now and then he'd rise up into a level of rage that combatted her screams. Both of them were angry and frustrated at the situation.

They continued on for about 20 minutes. At some point, Max suggested something to Carolina which made her go quiet for a few minutes. Aaron had been watching them outside during his impromptu coffee break. He watched them through the one-way mirror, sipping his black coffee in long languid slurps that made it look like he was actually focused on the coffee.

Rossi joined him with his own vanilla latte in hand. "You know, no matter how long you stare- that's a soundproof mirror, probie. You won't be able to eavesdrop on them." 

Aaron shrugged his shoulder, "Does Ryan always let suspect's families yell at him like that?"

Rossi resisted the urge to laugh, "Cara isn't just family of a suspect. I think she's an agent with the CIA. Around the same age as you, probie." He sang through a sip of coffee. "Formerly with Counterterrorism- now works with IFA. She's made a lot of movements within the DoJ" He explained simply to Aaron, as though moving between Justice Organizations was so simple to talk about.

"You know her?"

"We've met. I know her story and the rumors."

Aaron looked over at Cara. His neck arching in curiosity. "What rumors?"

Rossi's head shot over, "Tell me you've heard of the BoneHunter Case."

Aaron nearly dropped his coffee. The BoneHunter Case, often known as the BoneHunter Tragedy, was a recent bombshell within the bureau. A failed mission which resulted in three demolished teams and produced three rouge agents turned murderers within the FBI. It happened about three years ago and it was a blood bath. No matter how may times he heard it, Aaron still had a hard time believing it was true. "I thought that was just a rumor."

Rossi shook his head. "I read the file. Nope. All true. Each detail as gory as it's been told."

"How did you get a hold of the file?"

"She wasn't allowed in the field but the CIA had a... vetted interest in her abilities. They needed a cleared evaluation. Ryan asked me to assist on her psych evaluation."

"Not Gideon?"

"Hey! I am just as good as Gideon, if not better." Rossi huffed, insulted at the insinuation that Jason Gideon was in any way better than him. He then let out a laugh, "I taught Gideon everything he knows- I'll have you know. BUT Ryan did call me in because Gideon and Cara didn't get off on the right foot."

"Cara?"

Rossi shook his head, "Don't call her that until she lets you. In your case- maybe just stick to Agent Bramente." He sang- shooting Aaron a wink as he motioned over towards the room where she was standing. "Pretty isn't she?"

Aaron let out a snort, "If anger management issues are what you consider pretty."

Rossi smirked, "In fact, I do."

After their earlier encounter, Aaron didn't want to give Carolina any positive credits towards her character. she was rude, tactless, and violent upon entry and his impression of her almost couldn't get lower. Still, it was hard to deny a blatant fact in front of him. When she was standing in front of him and not pissing him off, Aaron's face softened at the sight of her.

She was, indeed, pretty. Her long dyed blonde hair had completely fallen out of her bun, tendrils now slipping over her shoulders and framing delicate features. Her eyes when cleared, held a softer distinction of chocolate brown with thick but neat eyebrows above. She had high cheekbones and a compact frame. She looked small and she looked pretty.

Aaron could at least afford her 'pretty'.

Max and Carolina finally exited the room. Max whispered a few words to her and Carolina nodded her head as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and noticed the Aaron and Rossi watching her from across the room. She jerked her head upwards in greeting. Rossi raised his coffee to the woman as she approached. Rossi leaned over to Aaron, "Play nice." He mumbled under his breath.

"Dave." Carolina sang in greeting. A charming smile danced over her features and he pulled her into a tight hug.

"Good to see you, Cara. How's Langley?" Rossi smiled amicably

"Eh." She shrugged nonchalantly, slipping her hands into her pockets. "They've got me temporarily teaching classes at the camp. I'll whip them into shape one of these days." Her humor was witty and danced off gentle pink petals of lips. Aaron found it difficult not to stare. "I met your boy scout here. You're new at the BSU right?" She asked. This time her words directed to Aaron.

Aaron blushed when she called him boy scout, again. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes. I just transferred from the Seattle Field Office. This is my first case... and my name is Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, ma'am." He finished coldly.

Cara pressed her lips together. Her eyes squinted. "I've never met someone named, Special."

This time Aaron rolled his eyes. He grimaced a smile of annoyance. This woman was a real piece of work. "Agent Hotchner is fine, Agent Bramente." He smiled quite sourly. Aaron was getting over this woman very quickly. Beauty can only cover up so much.

Max walked over with two cups of coffee before Cara could continue to tease Aaron. He handed one to Cara and looked to Rossi and Aaron. He then looked around the bullpen for the rest of their team, "Cole! Gideon!" The remaining agents made their way over to them. Cole and Gideon both shook Cara's hand upon seeing her with a sense of polite amicability.

"Cara." Gideon greeted, "Doing well?"

Cara shrugged her shoulders, "CIA is nice. My father's been arrested. It's a give and take day." She teased. Her anger had obviously been staved by Ryan as she came off as humorous rather than her angry introduction earlier.

Gideon smile, "I hope you're not upset about my-"

Cara raised a hand, "Don't worry about it. I wasn't going to be allowed into the field with the FBI anymore. Doesn't matter what my psych eval said." She shrugged her shoulders, "Bygones be bygones, Gideon."

Gideon's shoulders sagged in relief. Aaron wondered if it was because he was worried she hated him or worried she was going to go full cell block D on his ass.

Max clapped his hands together with a smile, "Everyone, I'm sure you know, Special Agent Carolina Bramente. Specialist in Organized Crime and Combat and Defense Techniques." Max shifted his weight again, "Agent Bramente will be joining us during this investigation. I believe her in-depth knowledge of organized crime and connections within the Chicago environment will be a great asset to us in the investigation." He explained quickly, not addressing the fact of her real presence her was more of a product of his preference to her.

The rest of team nodded their heads, accepting Cara's expertise easily enough. Aaron knew that they had all previously met before, but it seemed that he was the only one who was skeptical about her presence on this case. She was immature, violent, and had little to no tact. As far as assets go, Aaron just didn't think she'd be a very good one during this case.

"Good." Max smiled before clapping his hands together, "Cole, Rossi, you two go interview our latest suspect in lockup. Jason let's work on victimology. Probie! You and Cara go down to the latest crime scene and see what you can get from there. We have most of the evidence but- they might've missed something." He noted with a shrug, not letting on that he was just searching for grunt work to push on the new kid and the interloper. It was well intentioned and they might actually find something.

However, it was still grunt work and Aaron looked less than pleased.

Everyone split off into their groups, leaving Aaron and Carolina together. Aaron half expected Cara to make an effort towards an apology for her earlier behavior but she made no such effort. Instead she offered an easy smile with her hands on her hips. "Ready to go... boy scout?"

Aaron rolled his eyes before walking towards the car, brushing past her in annoyance. Cara grinned cheekily before following behind him with her arms folded behind her back.

Max and Gideon watched them walk away. Max keeping a close eye on the woman as she walked off with his new probie. Gideon watched as well with a curious look in his eyes, "How do you think they're gonna do?" Max's head moved from side to side in deep thought before he answered honestly,

"I think they're either going to fuck each other or kill each other."


	3. Shot to the Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N.// So the

Rossi laughed at the memory of her, "Cara never had any tact. She rushed into every room like a fireball shot through the window. Direct confrontation was the only kind confrontation she knew." A fond look passed over his features. "But that only made her brave and Cara was only ever that. Even when she should've been pissed scared, Cara would square her shoulders and stand tall..." He grinned, "Well, as tall as 5'7" in heels can get you."

Penelope was completely enthralled into the story. Her chin perched on her knuckles as she leaned forward waiting for more. "Well what happened? How did the case end?"

Rossi's eyebrows raised with the faintest chuckle on his lips, "It ended... unexpectedly."

* * *

From what Rossi heard about Aaron and Cara's time out- things were rocky. Aaron and Cara were fighting nearly the entire time. They two of them were polarizing opposites. Aaron was a brown noser and a stickler for the rules while Cara was the thing you broke rules with. They argued on what clues they found, what those clues meant, and where to go from there. From the car ride to the scene and back, they were arguing. Aaron found Cara to be intelligent, impudent, and painfully pretty. Cara would admit that Aaron was handsome but really only that. Then when she did admit he was handsome, she had to throw in that small insult just make herself feel balanced again.

When they got back they presented their findings to the group separately their reasonings speculative at best but helpful nonetheless. They sat at opposite ends of the table and avoided looking at each other for the rest of the night. That is until everyone started to file out. Slowly but surely the night was wearing on and they weren't getting anywhere. Eventually, Ryan told the team to hit the hay. A good night's sleep would give them a good reset and fresh eyes to look at the case.

Everyone went home except for Cara, Aaron, and Rossi. However, Rossi was wearing big headphones and watching surveillance on a computer in the bullpen, outside. Cara and Aaron were arguing inside the conference room.

"You're generalizing! We can't just assume that he isn't a part of the mafia just because these murders are happening against the mafia!"

"You are part of the mafia! I thought this would be the one part of the profile you'd actually agree on! It doesn't make sense for a member of the mafia to kill other members of the mafia. They have a code. They have rules."

"He's killing people in cold blood- I really don't think he cares about the code, boy scout. And how did you know I was part of the mafia? Did you look at my file?!"

"Yeah and you're a real charmer, sweetheart. You know that?" Aaron's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Rossi couldn't help but chuckle as he heard them argue. Those two were like cats and dogs the way they went at it. Their arguing was senseless, almost as though they were only doing it to get on the other's nerves. Pride prevented them from coming to common ground until they hit that single breakthrough. From the window, Rossi saw Aaron pull out the seat next to Cara, "Okay- please hear me out. I'm tired of yelling." He gentle pried the file away from Cara's grip. He started pointing at parts of the file, "All of the victims were sexually assaulted and though the killing is dirty, it is also methodical. There's no overkill. This isn't random. This unsub has a purpose that they intend to play out."

Cara, having calmed down was listening to Aaron with an intent expression on her face. "Okay... but plenty of people have motive to kill members of the mafia. It's just why these three? What did they have in common?"

"Besides the mafia?" Aaron snorted with a hint of sarcasm

Rossi could've sworn he heard Cara laugh a little before she slapped him upside the head. He heard a hissed insult mumbled under the loud hum of the air conditioning unit. However, from his position in the window, Rossi could see the blush that speckled up Aaron's cheekbones and the smile that tugged up at the corner of his lips.

"Well let's start with what their duties were in the mafia...." Cara announced suddenly with the ruffling of papers. Their voices became hushed once more as he watched them sit together and remain there. They weren't by any means flirting, but Rossi was could tell that Aaron had managed to lower his ego enough to consider Cara and Cara had lifted her defenses to give Aaron a little bit of an inch to run with. It wasn't romantic. It was just friendly diplomacy.

Rossi laughed to himself before he went back to his surveillance videos. Once they finally went to sleep, Rossi offered to share the car with Aaron back to the hotel. Cara was staying with family in downtown and Aaron insisted on giving her a lift. The older man just shrugged his shoulders with a sly grin on his lips, "Ah dulce amore." He whispered teasingly as he waved his jacket out the door and left the two alone for the night.

* * *

"Did they kiss?" Penelope gasped, now she was completely enthralled and definitely not leaving until they reached the ending.

Rossi raised up his hands with a sigh, "Calm down! Calm down! Keep in mind, my recollection of what happened between Cara and Aaron during that case is very sparse. I had more important things to focus on? Yes?" He reminded the two of them with a pointed look, "Not to mention, as agents within the bureau, we have a non-fraternization policy."

Penelope rolled her eyes. Her own thoughts bouncing back to her own relationship and Rossi's with Strauss, "Okay, but did they kiss?"

"I'm not done with the story yet!"

* * *

The next morning, Cara and Aaron were much more civil to one another. Rossi couldn't help but notice the both of them walking into the precinct together with identical cups of coffee. Still enthralled in deep discussion with one another as they cut through the precinct with a quick pace and directly to the conference room where the rest of the team was waiting. They burst in and blurted out at the exact same time,

"We found a lead."

After working together all night, Cara and Aaron had found a connection with the victims. They were all involved in a cover up rape scheme with a woman named Felicity Granger. She committed suicide three weeks ago but she's survived by an older brother, a mother, and an elderly father. They looked mighty proud as they delivered the information to rest of the team.

Ryan was nodding to himself with his lip pinched between his forefinger and thumb. He was half receiving the lead and half building a profile on what he was learning from his probies. He nodded at every other word. "Okay say this is true. Who all was involved with covering up the rape case?"

Cara shook her head with a sigh, "We surmised that it was contained to that branch of the family. I made a few calls and very few significant members know of the rape. Each branch has about ten to twelve members at any given time. Outside members as well as cousins of the family. After some research and a lot of phone calls, we found out that it was the Corolinius Branch. They have about ten members- three of them currently dead and seven more that are directly involved with the case."

"So it's the brother." Rossi announced from his seat as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He wants to avenge his dead sister and begins to slowly cut down everyone who pushed her towards her suicide."

"Yes and no." Aaron corrected quickly, "Her brother was overseas when Felicity committed suicide. He came back just in time for her funeral, just days after the first murder." He moved his head from side to side, "He has motive, but he also has impossibility."

Katherine let out a deep sigh, "So we're back to square one."

Cara was standing next to Max. She nudged him with her elbow, "Square two." She corrected with a laugh, "You said the unsub was devolving at a quick pace. The first kill was sloppy and messy, as though the killer was an amateur and didn't know what he was doing." Max looked at her as though he was trying to read what she was saying before it came out of her mouth. Instead he shut his mouth and nodded. Max wasn't known much for his bedside manner, but he owed Cara five minutes to speak.

"That's right. We profiled that he was learning quickly and devolving fast."

"What if he isn't devolving at all?" They all stopped in confusion. Max looked at Cara as though he was getting annoyed of her shots in the dark. He opened his mouth to retort her before Aaron dived in with the answer.

He snapped his fingers and it echoed through the room, "It's two people."

* * *

Rossi shook his head with a laugh, "Cara was always good at the weird ones. The funky murders, the grotesque victimology, and the double kills. She knew how to kill with perfection and efficiency and any deviation from that was something she could recognize all too well." He looked both shocked and amazed by his own memories as he recalled the variation of insanity this woman used to hold on that portion of his past. It had been a long while since he dwelled on her. She was a memory locked away for times long gone and he was not accustomed to speaking about her. Just like the chapter he'd written, Cara had been locked away for a very long time."

"You were fond of her." Penelope hummed happily as she looked at the fond smile on Rossi's face. She traded looks with Derek who was listening intently to the tale that Rossi was sharing with them. Penelope looked over at Morgan with a gleeful gleam in her eyes, "H-He was fond of her."

Morgan sighed with a laugh, "Come on now Rossi, enough with the fluffy stuff. How did the case end?"

Rossi sat up with a sigh, "I'm not sure you'll believe it if I tell you..."

* * *

They had managed to bring the mother in for questioning on her daily run to the grocery store. She was depressed, manic, and expressing a lot of unconfined rage. She was screaming at the police and agents who went in to speak with her. She refused to take a call, make a call, or utter any word besides 'recompense'. They were able to find her address in the wallet they had confiscated after taking her into custody. It had a picture of a her with a young man and woman- presumably her children- in front of an old house. On the back, was an address and a hearth scribbled in blue pen and mess handwriting.

Cara and Aaron went with a small team of police officers led by Rossi. The rest stayed at the precinct trying to crack the mother. Rossi remembered getting out of the black SUV and immediately being shaking by the bitter breeze against his skin. It was in the middle of April, but Chicago always failed to remember the proper changing of the seasons. That night, however, it was a bitter cold that left a sinister breath into the air. Rossi divided the team of officers into two sections. He'd take the front with half, while Cara and Aaron went around the back with other half. They arrived on the steps. Rossi couldn't remember if he knocked first or not, but he remembered kicking int he door with so much force that it shattered into the doorway. The house was empty.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"Cl- FBI! Freeze!" Cara yelled from the back of a hallway as she immediately raced into pursuit of a shadowy figure who emerged from behind a shower curtain. He dived into the back door and made a run from the cellar which had an exit into the backyard. She was hot on his heels with her gun drawn and a shot ready to take. The cellar door was blocked from the outside by other officers and they had managed to corner him into the dark cellar. Rossi and Aaron chased the both of them down into the cellar and stood behind her with their guns drawn. The unsub hid behind the shelves and boxes. They creeped closer and closer with a steady pace. Cara lead the three of them with square shoulders and focus unlike anything Rossi had ever seen.

Suddenly the shelves came tumbling down towards them. They all dashed out of the way and right into eye sight of the unsub. He raised his gun in synch with Cara- both of them drawing their guns out like some sort of Western flick. However, outside of the both of them. Someone was quicker.

Aaron jumped in front of Cara, pushing her into the ground and out of gun range. The bullet flew through Aaron's left shoulder, cutting like butter. He fell on top of Cara's waist. She fell with a thud but ignored the obstacle. She popped up with her gun and fired off three rounds in the unsub's chest sending him spiraling into the wall behind him.

Cara collapsed with a sigh of annoyance as adrenaline rushed into her expression. Cara made quick work of shimming her way out from underneath Aaron before flipping him over to the ground. She straddled his waist and immediately used both hands to place pressure onto his shoulder. A panicked look shot towards Rossi. Her eyes were wide in absolute horror, "Cloth! Dave! Get me a cloth! And call a bus!" She then looked down at Aaron with a bit of a hiss, "What the hell were you thinking? Are you an idiot? I think you're an idiot because only an idiot jumps in front of a bullet for a woman he barely knows! My god! What the hell were you thinking? Hotchner? HOTCHNER? BOY SCOUT!!"

Aaron was fading in and out of consciousness as Cara continued to scream at him. Rossi called for a bus, but a part of him was worried that if shouting didn't work- Cara would slap Aaron just to make sure his eyes were staying open. A frantic worry became painted across her face as she watched the blood pool around her fingers. She whimpered small insults underneath her breathe and prayed for the ambulance to get there. The minutes that it took for them to arrive, Rossi shared Cara's sentiment in feeling as though it were hours too long. She only relinquished her pushing into Aaron's chest when the ambulance arrived. 

Rossi watched from the sidelines as the paramedics pried her off of his chest. Her fingers painted in blood and insults still spewing from her lips. She then looked in horror as they began to carry him off. She followed the paramedics like a zombie, pulled into a complete daze. She refused to leave Aaron's side as his eyes hung halfway low with a deep haze. She slipped into the ambulance and as the doors closed, Rossi could have sworn he saw Cara take his hand in hers. Their fingers wrapped together and his knuckles pressed to her lips.

* * *

"The rest of the BSU returned to Washington D.C. without Aaron." Rossi admitted with a sheepish laugh, "We had more cases to look at and he needed to stay for one more week. We stayed as long as we could but had to leave him eventually."

Penelope's eyes were wide and soft, "He took a bullet for her? Like two days after meeting her- he took a bullet for her?" She had an awed look on her face as she looked at Morgan, "He took a bullet for her!"

Morgan let out a gentle laugh with sighed deeply, "So... I'm guessing Cara joined the BSU after that?"

Rossi smiled, "Ryan put in a request to the DoJ a few weeks after the case. She was former FBI so it wasn't outlandish. The BSU was down a man after Jack Garrett left to start up IRT. A few months later, Agent Bramente was a proper member of the BSU. We were a test Unit so they had no problem with handing off of 'damaged goods'." He noted, using visual quotation marks. "She and Aaron were partners of sorts. They worked all their cases together and spent nearly all of their time with one another. They were partners for her entire time with the BSU..." He paused, "She died five years after I left."

"How?" Morgan asked softly. Penelope's head shot over- prepared to yell at Morgan for being so blunt. Despite, definitely wanting to know as well. He gently swatted down Penelope's hand and gave Rossi a pointed look. "How?"

Rossi took in a deep sigh, "She disappeared during a solo investigation case in North Carolina. The unsub would destroy the bodies past recognition and she was never found. The unsub was never found and Cara dropped of the map." He clapped his hands together, "We could only assume the obvious."

Penelope's face fell, "I'm so sorry, Rossi." She whispered. The guilt of dredging up old memories suddenly weighed down on her soul. Rossi looked up at her and gave her a relinquishing nod- silently forgiving her for reminding him not to forget. They continued to catch up for a few moments. They changed the topic a few times and abandoned the idea of the dead girl. Derek and Penelope slowly made their exits and sweet smiles replaced onto their lips. Penelope thanked Rossi for story time on her way out the door. Rossi was more than happy to share and quickly reminded Penelope that though she had the abilities to snoop- might be best to just let him handle this particular stroll down memory lane. He also reminded her to stop snooping into Agent Bramente.

Penelope gave in with sweet 'yes sir' and departed quickly.

Rossi pulled out the bottom drawer and dropped the chapter in there once more and returned to work until the late hours of the night. He buried himself in all the paperwork that Hotch didn't do- which certainly wasn't much. He tried to make himself forget Cara. Silently pushing away the memory of her, the hurt of her disappearance. Cara was gone and if Rossi tried hard enough, it wouldn't hurt anymore. It wouldn't hurt to think about the cheeky smiles and the tactless humor that was now gone from the world. Somehow, it was easier to believe that after all these years, she was dead. Maybe she's enjoying some of that peace that Rossi never deserved.

Outside, the sun began to set and one by one agents were exiting the bullpen. He watched from his office window as Morgan and JJ headed home. Penelope walked by the door and slipped into the elevator in silence. It wasn't until darkness overcame the sky that Rossi picked up his stuff and decided to close up for the night. As he locked the door to his office, he couldn't help but notice the dim light on in the office next to his.

He made his way over to the office and knocked on the open door three times. His Unit Chief had buried himself in a mountain of paperwork and was busying himself for the long, lonely night to come. Oddly enough, however, Aaron didn't look tired at all. At least not to Rossi. The knock caught Aaron's attention and his head shot up with a surprise, pulling himself out of his sea of paperwork. "Hey, Rossi. What's up?"

A small, sad smile came over Rossi's face, "Can we talk for a minute?"


	4. More than Just a Ghost Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:// So as far as Aaron Hotchner's age goes- I've adjusted his birth year from 1971 to 1961. Chronologically, it does not make sense for him to have the ambitious and impressive career that he has had by 2005. It's just not possible. So I've just adjusted it by 10 years as it is much closer to Thomas Gibson's age as well.
> 
> Timeline is like this:  
Aaron's Birth Year: 1961  
Cara's Birth Year: 1963  
Cara joined BSU: 1996  
Cara Dies: 2002

With the look on Rossi’s face, Aaron could tell that he was at least a little bit in trouble. Dave had deeper creases into pre-existing creases and looked as though he had just found out that Aaron failed his biology midterm. Aaron put down his pen and sat up straight, “Dave? Is everything okay?”

Rossi took in a deep breathe. “Aaron.” He began slowly, “What exactly do you expect to accomplish with this?”

“What are you talking about?”Aaron’s face was morphing into a subtle shock. He closed the files in front of him and stared at Rossi with that iconic, Hotchner glare. His eyebrows furrowed in concern and confusion. Rossi wasn’t sure whether or not Aaron was playing dumb or he genuinely didn’t find anything wrong with what he was doing.

Rossi shook his head, “Cara is dead. She’s been gone for seven years. What do you hope to accomplish by dredging up her old case files?” He looked almost hurt at Aaron’s actions. True, Aaron was the closest to Cara during their time together, but that didn’t mean that Rossi didn’t miss her too. They all missed her. “I know you’re in mourning but this is not-“

“THAT-“ Aaron interrupted quickly. The volume of his voice elevated three levels and he gave Rossi a pointed look, “Is not what I’m doing.”

Rossi’s opened mouth closed, shocked at his own impertinence. He took a seat in front of Aaron’s desk, “Then what are you doing?”

Aaron pressed his lips together in deep thought. Almost as though he was debating on whether or not Rossi would approve of his actions. Eventually he let out a heavy sigh and pulled out a file underneath the large stack on his desk, “I always felt guilty thinking about her when I got back together with Haley.” He admitted softly. The stack was 20 papers thick and had a name types across the top in small type letter font - _Special Agent Carolina Bramente_. She was quite popular today. “Haley was the one who got me through her death but I always felt like thinking about Cara meant that I was cheating on Haley-“

“But you can’t replace Haley with Cara, Aaron. They were both very different women.”

“You think I don’t know that?!”

Aaron’s words bit through the air, almost like a sharp dart through Rossi’s face. His tone was covered in shards of ice and a look of hurt was reflected in both their faces. Aaron looked down in a color of shame, “When Cara died, I confided in Haley but…” He paused and covered his face with his hands, “all I wanted was to talk to Cara and at Haley’s funeral…” Aaron bit back small tears, “all I wanted to do was talk to Cara.” His shoulders broke down, unable to carry the weight of losing two women in his life, unable to carry the shame of missing the presence of another in the wake of the other’s death. Aaron looked up at Rossi, “It’s just that…” He let out a strangled laugh gutted with fragments of tears, pinching his lips to keep himself from crying, “She always made me feel safe. I never.. I never felt a need to make myself strong for Cara.” He laughed a little underneath his breathe, “She never made me act strong when she knew I couldn’t… and she always knew when I couldn’t. Everything I’m feeling right now - she’d get it.”

Rossi’s shoulder’s softened. It was very rare for him to ever see Aaron so weak. Foyet had broken down Aaron to his bare bones and left him a rotting mess, but Aaron picked himself up. He always picked himself up. Rossi often wondered how the man always remained so stoic and dignified in the face of killers and danger. He took horrific information in stride and kept on going. Aaron was the backbone for this team. When everything else was falling down, Aaron was keeping them all standing up. However, who was keeping him up? Who was letting him fall down when he couldn’t stand up anymore? Not Haley anymore. Not Sean, Morgan, or even Rossi.

He was alone. He had reasons to stand up, but no place to fall down.

“I think she was my soulmate or my best friend at the very least. ” He muttered under his breath, picking up a photo from her personnel file. Her office FBI reinstatement photo with long bleached blonde hair and that smirk he knew so well. She cut it when it started to fade back to red - but he always liked the way the blonde used to framed her face. “Not because we were in love or were meant to be or anything. I think she just made my life easier from the moment she stepped into it. She used to say we needed each other in our lives.” He frowned softly, “If only she knew how right she was.”

“You’re right.” Rossi said suddenly, “You were a lot more fun when she was around.”

Hotch let out a huff from deep in chest with a charmed laugh, “I most definitely was.” His fingers rose and pressed themselves against his lips, “It always made me feel safe to have her around and not just because she could throw me over her shoulder on any give day.” Hotch chuckled, a part of his soul began to shine as he remembered her. He anchored his chin into the palm of his hand with a gentle huff, “I never needed to make her proud or make her believe I was strong. There was nothing to prove with Cara.”

“Aaron, she hated you from the get go. You two fought with tooth and nail before you two finally decided you could stand each other.” Rossi gave him an incredulous look, “If anything- she was the one you had to prove yourself to the most!”

“Getting shot isn’t proving myself.”

“You’re right.” Rossi nodded, standing up and grabbing a the whiskey set on the other side of the room and pouring them both glasses, “It’s a lot harder. But I do believe it was a catalyst for your long term relationship.”

Hotch laughed and accepted the glass from Rossi. A look of warm remise had fallen over his features. It was easier to talk about Cara when she was more than just a ghost story. Between the two of them who still remembered her when she was alive and kicking. That was the only decent way to remember Cara. Not by her achievements, mistakes, or broken hearts, but by the way she could light a room on fire just by walking into it. The fire in her eyes and the tenacity in her teeth were trademarks of a personality that should have never died. She was more than the ghost that everyone else made her out to be.

“Did you love her?”

Hotch looked up from the amber liquid in his hand, “Hm?”

“Cara. I know you thought no one knew but we all knew, or at least we had our suspicions. There’s devastation and then there’s what happened to you after she died.” He shook his head with a low-toned whistle, “I honestly thought you weren’t going to come back after that.”

Hotch’s eyes narrowed into a squint with a laugh of incredulous belief, “Your bedside manner is really something else, Dave. You know that?” He let out a short laugh and a huff, “We dated.” He finally admitted, seven years after her death and eight after their relationship finally ended, “We took the dive in… 1999?”

Now it was Dave’s turn for shock and a whistle, “Three years?! You two dated for three years and we didn’t know?”

“You always left us in the bunker alone! What did you think was going to happen! Two years of spending nights alone, having barely anyone else in our lives, and being partners- you knew Cara. Beautiful and completely unprofessional to a fault.”

Rossi looked up with a dramatic look in his eyes, “Il cielo era nei suoi occhi.”_ (The sky was in her eyes)_

“Stop that.” Hotch’s cheeks were now burning a soft blush that seldom few were able to summon up from him. “And I’m not surprised, she wasn’t exactly my type.” He huffed softly into the glass of whiskey before taking a large sip- just to justify his blush.

Rossi looked over at him, “What? Hot Ex-Mafia, Ex-CIA, and Disgraced FBI agents aren’t your thing? You weren’t attracted to the whole ‘almost criminal’ vibe?” The tease hung off his lips with a cheeky grin, “Which she was by the way- hot.” He emphasized on the word ‘hot’ because of how foreign it sounded in his mouth. Rossi was much more classy than that and was capable of much more appropriate word choices.

Hotch grimaced comically, “Cara is going haunt you in the grave for calling her hot.”

“Oh she’s definitely done it before. How else can I explain my third wife?” He asked with a cheeky grin, referring to that one black out night in Vegas in which he married a blackjack dealer named Krystall. Cara had been dead for two years but it had her name written all over it. He looked up with a dramatic glare, “Bring it on, Bramente! Italian mano-i-mano!”

They burst into a series of laughter- genuine that hit them down in the pits of their chests. They held their guts as their shoulder became wracked with hysterical laughter that reached deep inside of a place long forgotten. Suddenly they were young Special Agents still working in a bunker and a long career ahead of them. There weren’t tortured by a lifetime of horrors and lost loved ones on their docket. Suddenly life was simple again.

The laughter began to die down with soft breaths and gentle smiles spread across their lips, “When I wondered who I could talk to about Haley, I started to think about Cara- and I started to miss her.” He heaved a heavy sigh, “One thing led to another, “ He picked up the file and dropped it down with a loud plop, “and here we are - about fifty cases down memory lane.” He looked out the window and then back at Rossi, “You think we gave up too soon? Looking for her, I mean.”

Rossi’s thick Italian eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “No way. We looked for her for months- put cases on hold until the bureau had to force us to stop. We looked for her until we couldn’t look for her anymore.” He leaned forward with a sigh, “Aaron, even if there was something left of Cara- it would’ve been impossible to find her. She’s gone.” He looked up at Aaron, "So you've got to let her go Aaron- on your own. She'd be pissed off to see you holding onto her for so long."

Hotch closed his eyes. Dark eyelashes mingled together and Rossi could tell that he was holding back tears. “I know.” He murmured, unable to get out a reply louder than a whisper, “I know.”

Rossi raised his glass up with a bittersweet smile, “But a toast- one more time if only to give them a proper send off. To the women who left our lives too soon. The women who sure as hell deserved to be sitting here much more than either of us.”

Aaron smiled, “Here, here.” Their glasses clinked and somewhere in the world, fate felt a little sympathy for Aaron Hotchner. For this story is not over just yet. Cara Bramente doesn't get off that easily.


	5. The Things We Can Do

As an agent, Carolina Bramente was a real Frank Abegnale. The bureau's concept of her was _'if you can't beat her- hire her'_.

Cara Bramente was the daughter of a mafia don, a mixed martial arts master, and a long-time member of the FBI's Most Wanted Domestic list since she was sixteen. Her childhood was filled with brutal training unfit for a child but more so for brainwashing a machine. Her spirit was stoked and guided towards rage. She was disciplined in the practices of spies, snipers, and assassins. Her father had raised her and her twin brother as professional criminals with a specific career path in mind and one enemy in sight. It was their family and there was everyone else. She was stronger that way. She was the gun. Her brother was the bullet.

Their father did all the aiming.

In 1986, Cara was convicted on a federal drug charge at the age of 23. She had escaped more than a thousand convictions and captures before but this time- they had managed to get her with one weakness: her little sister.

Cara has a twin brother, but she had a little sister too- Vanessa Bramente and Vanessa was nothing like her older siblings. She was innocent and funny, but not so bright. She was the baby of the family and always treated like a little princess. Vanessa was given everything she wanted as a child and a teenager- she was the little princess. Cara would do anything for her little sister.

That included, giving up her freedom and joining the FBI.

Vanessa was arrested for being caught with an entire boatload of cocaine after running into a relationship with one of the Bramente family's drug runners. She was taken into federal custody and arrested for the drugs. She had no prior charges or arrests, but they wanted to make an example of her. Cara refused to let that happen. She was the eldest of the family and her little sister was her responsibility. So Cara made a call and made a trade. They didn't want Vanessa. She wasn't much of an example but Cara? Now that was a sacrificial lamb worthy of the spit.

Now, _Frank Abegnale_ was the first of many criminals recruited into the FBI. He was con man, check forger, and imposter- the greatest criminal in the lines of white collar criminal offenses. When arrested the FBI made a choice- they could either lock Abegnale up for the rest of his life or put his skills to good and use him as an asset for the rest of the bureau.

You can guess what happened next.

Abegnale was hired into the FBI when Cara was 6. 17 years later, Cara was hired into the FBI in lieu of prison.

She died 16 years later in the line of duty.

* * *

* * *

5 months had passed since the name _Carolina Bramente_ had passed through the BAU. The world made room to forget and life went on with only small glimpses of change. Cara left small fractures in the reality of daily life- burning, even as a ghost story, she burned.

David Rossi was enjoying another office hour on a slow day. His piles of paperwork had gone abandoned as he read his way through the abandoned written word. He was staring at the formerly abandoned chapter that rested on his desk and let his eyes loiter in a space long forgotten over pages that just weren't good enough. Over the course of his literary career, Rossi had taken exploited every one and thing that had made him the profiler he was to the day. There was always a chapter about a profiler that goes unnamed or a criminal whose name will never be forgotten. Pages to pages filled with unnamed victims who had become stepping stones for Rossi's rise to fame. Rossi had made heroes and villains out of reality, but Cara was never good enough for the page... or maybe she was the only was who was too good for it. She was the one of the few memories Rossi couldn't bear to disgrace.

He could still remember his first day in after the publication of his book. Cara was sitting at his desk with her feet propped up and her face comically buried in the pages of his newest novel. She was there uncharacteristically early and was holding a first edition hardcopy of _Deviance: The Secret Desires of Sadistic Serial Killers_ and a cheeky look in her sparkling brown eyes. Her hair was long and red with tinged colors of bleach blonde at the end all tied back in a messy bun with stray strands framing her face. 

_"Heeeeey Dave- wanna sign my book? Some fancy new author on criminology but I bet he doesn't know jack about serial killers."_

Her words echoed with the image of her smirk in his mind and the tease on her lips, even seven years after her death. 

"Rossi."

Dave's head jerked up at the sudden presence of another blonde in his doorway. It was JJ holding out a file with a patient look in her eyes. "We have a case and we're meeting in the conference room in ten but, Hotch requested you get the file first." She informed quite matter of factly. She was holding the file out for him, waiting silently. The color of sandy blonde sent a chord of misplaced nostalgia in Dave's head as he stood up to accept the file and wondered if Cara and JJ would've gotten along and if there was any particular personality difference between a natural blonde and a bleach blonde. Dave jerked his head upward in acceptance as JJ made her leave and Dave began to flip through the file.

Three murders in Chicago that were beginning to look serial. Women and girls were being snatched off the street and hung like animals in the street. A toddler, a little girl, a teenager, and a young woman- barely 20- all of them killed exactly the same way. Dave felt sick as his eyes flickered over the pages of the dead girls and women that littered the file. The deaths seemed familiar to him. Almost as though he had seen something like this before... 

He had the same M.O. as the Chicago Butchers in 1996 but the victimology was completely different. The Chicago Butchers killed only men and had a specific plan of actions- however, this was not the same. These were killings- not random but nothing like the previous killers from years before. All female but varying in age and looks but they shared a single commonality of being members of familiar family name...

"Thoughts?"

In the doorway, Aaron stood with a wide-eyed glassy look on his face. He was clutching the file in his right hand, his fingers turning white from how tight he was holding the papers. A shallow gulp in his throat. Dave had very little doubt that Aaron hadn't noticed the commonalities between this case and the one from 13 years ago. His face looked paler then usual as a white sheet of color seemed to drain all the blood from his face. This wasn't just a case he had in common with Cara. This was their origin story. This is where the beginning of her end started.

Dave cleared his throat with a gentle sigh, "I'm thinking..." He paused before looking up, "I can take point on this case if you want to sit this one out."

Aaron shook his head with a rueful laugh, "I can't. Arlo called me personally."

Dark Italian eyebrows furrowed at Aaron's words. "Arlo? Arlo as in Carlisle Bramente?"

Aaron nodded, "Police Chief Bramente now and extremely desperate to end these killings. So desperate that he was even willing to call me." His voice held an inflection that sounded like dread and regret, "Said I owed him this."

Carlisle Bramente was the cherished first son of the Bramente family and their fallen teammate's twin brother. In the period of time that Cara worked in the BSU, they met Arlo frequently during off hours. Aaron knew him best, but Carlisle also hated Aaron the most if not the entire BSU at the time of Cara's death. He blamed Aaron when the FBI stopped looking and he hated Aaron when he held a funeral in her honor. For, Arlo never stopped looking and it could still be assumed that, to this day, he was still looking. When Aaron told Arlo that he'd be holding a funeral for Cara it seemed like the ultimate final betrayal. He prohibited the entire Bramente family from attending and still held a withstanding threat to Aaron that if he stepped foot in a Bramente family establishment without so much as a begging information- Arlo would have him killed on the spot.

But, I suppose this would be considered a begging invitation.

Rossi nodded as he collected his things and they began their walk to the conference room, "I'm surprise you even accepted the case with the way he treated you."

Aaron sighed softly, "Well we were friends before it all happened... and when he called, all I thought about is how Cara would haunt me from the grave for fighting with her brother." He tipped his head from side to side with a small laugh, "It's not as though I'm a 30yr old Special Agent anymore either. I'm supposed to be grown and mature."

"Really? I would've just disconnected the phone out of spite."

Aaron stopped short and gave Rossi a pointed look before the older man shrugged, "I would've called back later. Really!"

Somehow Aaron doubted that.

* * *

They presented the case as normal. Going over photos, location, and preliminary acknowledgment that this was indeed a serial killer case and a possible copycat of the Chicago Butcher Case. Analysis went around but they were all profilers and they could feel the elephant in the room. There was something both Rossi and Hotch weren't saying. The shifty glances were the tell that all of them had become accustomed to when Mom and Dad were hiding something.

Morgan was never one for secrets. "Alright can I just address the elephant in the room? Which is the fact that this copycat is based on a case very serious to the both of y'all. Correct me if I'm wrong- but this was Cara's first case. Agent Bramente- your old partner?"

Aaron looked at Rossi, realizing that Rossi hadn't kept Cara to Penelope and himself. He let out a nod and a sigh under his breathe, "Yes. This was the Agent Bramente's first case with the BSU."

Reid looked around in confusion. He wasn't used to not knowing what was going around. Reid had noticed the strange weight on both Rossi and Hotch's shoulders as they presented the case. He noticed the sighs when they mentioned Chicago. He noticed the shared glances of dread when they mentioned the Police Chief who invited them in for the case.

He had noticed but he didn't understand. "I'm sorry." Reid began suddenly, "Who exactly is Agent Cara Bramente."

"Special Agent Carolina Bramente." Hotch clarified, pinching the bridge of his nose at the annoyance of having to divulge personal information. This wasn't his son or his wife or his favorite color- this was a deep, dark personal fact that some of his closest friends didn't even know about. She was where his happy place resided. Cara was supposed to be the sweet little secret who had finally escaped the claws of his dark reality. He didn't want to speak. He would have rather Rossi explained instead, but Cara deserved better than that. He took in a deeper breathe. It wasn't uncommon for Hotch not to talk. The constant weight of a crap personal life seemed to affect him in small walls. Not noticeable ways, but just enough for anyone to notice. He was awful at social context but he was good at patterns and Hotch was anything but unpredictable.

This deviation, to that fact, was like a glaring red sign on Hotch's forehead to the highly intelligent Spencer. He stared at Hotch with glassy eyes, waiting for an uncharacteristically personal explanation from their team's strong and fearless leader. 

"She was my former partner when I first joined the BSU." Hotch finally explained. "This case- the Chicago Butcher case- was where we met and what led to her joining the BSU. She died in the line of duty in 2002." He sighed softly, getting more and more uncomfortable the more he revealed, "However, I can assure this team that I will remain objective to the case." An unnerved look was reflected in the rattled emotions in his eyes.

The team stared at him with slightly open jaws and genuinely empathetic eyes. "Oh.. Hotch.." JJ whispered first, sadness bubbling deep inside of her for the man she had known for so long. She didn't know what to say. None of them knew what to say. It was a loss they couldn't begin to understand and a sorrow that he hid very well. Haley was the more obvious wound, but they had no idea of the underlying loss that preceded her. They didn't know much about his history in the way of a personal life. Aside from divorce, death, Jack, and vengeful serial killers.

"Hotch..." Derek began with apologies painted over him, I'm not worried about you staying objective. We know that you can lead us to finish the case..." He took in a deep breathe, "But... this is your partner we're talking about. So if this is hard for you to get through... either of you," Derek motioned towards Rossi, "Then we can take care of it." Small sounds of approval and agreements were traded around the table as they all nodded with Derek's statement.

"We're here for you, Hotch." Prentiss offered with a shy smile

Hotch and Rossi traded glances between the two of them. Hotch let out a small breathe that he hadn't realized he had been holding in. A gentle smile tugged at the corner of his lips- immediately touched at their assurance of support. They traded glances before Hotch looked at the team. "Thank you. All of you. I think I can get through this and I think it will be good to return to Chicago... **for** Cara."

Rossi let out a smile, "She always did love a good case."

Hotch actually smiled before he turned to the team, "Alright. Wheels up in thirty."


	6. A Dream is a Wish and Only That

**| April 16, 2002 |**

The BSU resided in a dark, dank basement with little to show for the effort that went into it. They were a trial unit at a best and a bureau science experiment at worst. They were only permitted about five members at a time and all of that time was spent as consultants and loan out agents to precincts who had too much on their hands with serial killers or as Dave had recently popularized, "unsubs". It was all the rage now with cult fanatics. Ever since Dave published his book their notoriety was rising. Soon they wouldn't be in this basement anymore and pretty soon they'd be known as something more than the BS Unit. They were rising from the ashes.

It was a windy Friday morning. Aaron Hotchner was jogging down the metal stairs into the damp darkness of the basement to find the sparsely populated the room. They were in the middle of moving but the veteran members were putting off moving as long as humanely possibly. Most of them claiming that they were too busy to do something so inane as move desks. Aaron had just gotten back from the DoJ after officially signing his transfer papers. He was moving to New York to head up a unit in White Collar Crime. It wasn't Head of the New York Division but it was pretty damn close and plenty better than hiding out in a basement. The choice hadn't been an easy one but the pros outweighed the cons significantly. At least that's what Aaron's new girlfriend had convinced him when he brought the issue to her. 

Pros:

  * He'd have more power and rank
  * He'd be quickly promoted
  * He'd get to be home more often
  * It's a really nice office
  * The job is much less dangerous

Cons:

  * He loves what he does in the field and in the office
  * He has to leave people he's grown to care for and love
  * <strike>He has to leave Cara</strike><strike></strike>

Well that last con, never made it to the paper. That was the one con that remained hidden in his head when he made the list and now as he returned to turn in the last of his paperwork to Gideon- who had replaced Max Ryan as Unit Chief not too long ago. Only Katherine and Gideon were at the office. Katherine was consumed in a file and offered Aaron her a short head nod at his entrance. Gideon barely looked up, but held out a waiting hand for the files that Aaron had brought for him. However, Aaron in all his breathe-less-ness was looking around the office for the one face he had actually wanted to see today.

Gideon looked up from his desk, "She's at the shooting alley." He said shortly.

"Who?" Aaron asked, obviously playing dumb.

This time Gideon looked up with a deadpanned expression painted over his face, "She's leaving tonight for Richmond on a tracking case. It's her first case without a partner in five years." Aaron's big brown eyes softened at the realization that Gideon wasn't putting up with his bullshit tonight. The older man pulled off his glasses with a deep sigh, "Have you two spoken since you put in for a transfer?"

Aaron shrugged childishly, "We spoke..." He paused. Gideon looked at him pointedly. Aaron began nodding his head from side to side, "We argued." He amended quickly before looking at his soon to be former boss, "You know how she can be, Gideon. I was just hoping to give her the space to adjust and then I'll treat her at her favorite Chinese place once she gets back from Richmond, I swear" He promised softly and sheepishly, "You know how stubborn and petty she can be and to be perfectly honest- I really don't want to get anywhere near her and a loaded weapon right now." He hissed under his breathe. Katherine snickered from the other side of the room. 

Gideon finally looked up at Aaron straight in the eye, "She is a head shorter than you and if you don't speak to her before she leaves tonight. I can guarantee that you two will never recover in this lifetime or the next."

The two profilers stared one another down for the next few moments. Brown eyes glaring into Amber orbs framed in wrinkles. Both of them unblinking and stern in their own ways, but the one weathered by more time, more experience, and more stare downs would reign supreme in this particular exchange. Eventually his eyes stung too much and Aaron's blinked- whipping his head away to wipe away the stinging tears from dry eyes. "Ugh! Fine." He growled with a sigh. He turned to glare at Gideon, "She's gonna shoot me in the leg, but fine." His voice lowered into a grumble before he spun on his heels and stomped out of the room like a teenager who had just been told to apologize.

Well... to Gideon in that moment- that's probably exactly what Aaron seemed to be.

Adjacent to the BSU basement on the other side of the floor was a large gym area with a shooting range lined along the far wall. The gym itself was empty and low lit by the crackling light bulbs that should have been changed ages ago, but on the other side of the gym there was the unmistakable thunder of bullets hitting metal targets over and over again without fail- shooting into the back wall with every shot. Aaron took in a deep breath as a small smile tugged up at the corner of his lips. _'She never misses...'_ the thought was both a comfort and a worry to him as he approached her like a hunter approaches a panther.

Cautiously, carefully, and with the complete knowledge and acceptance that they could possibly not make it out of this situation alive. 

He stepped past the wall into the shooting range with still steps. She was the only one in the room, dressed in her usual black jeans and a long sleeve black thermal. Her hair was slicked back in a long blonde ponytail with her red roots peeking through at the top. Aaron watched Cara with still eyes as she held her gun up straight ahead of her and blasted three more bullets into the metal targets across the room. Her expression was flat and firm with unblinking eyes that saw nothing but the target in front of her. However, Aaron knew that was purposely pushing him out of her head even though he was positive that she had sensed him before he even walked into the room. Aaron stuffed his hands into his pockets and watched until her clip was empty before he uncaged his voice, "What are you giving me the silent treatment now?"

Cara lowered her gun with a sigh before glancing back at her soon to be former partner, "I'm busy, Aaron." Her eyes narrowed, "and didn't anyone ever tell you not to piss off a woman with a gun?"

A small smirk tugged up at his lips, "You don't need a gun to make sure no one pisses you off, Cara." He crooned sarcastically as she reloaded her clip and lifted the gun again with ease. This time using her non-dominant left hand with a firm grip.

**BANG**

**BANG**

**BANG**

Three more bullets shot through the air before Cara finally lowered the gun with a deep exhale. She put her gun and both hands down on the barrier in front of her and sighed. Aaron could see the rise and fall of both her shoulders with every long breathe that rolled through her lungs. He could practically feel every breath, blink, and rise of her chest. His eyes trained so closely on her figure that he felt as though he was unconsciously mimicking her actions in order to get a better sense of her next steps. Her next move.... whether or not she was going to shoot him in the foot for good, fair measure.

"You can't convince me to forgive you. So don't even try." She grumbled under her breath as she emptied out her gun and tossed the clip over her shoulder for Aaron to catch. He snatched it out of the air and let out a soft chuckle underneath his breath. He could feel the small smile on her lips from his position. It warmed the room - even when she was mad at him- it warmed the room.

Aaron sighed, "Come on, Cara. I don't want to leave things like this." He bounced from foot to foot with deep thought. "What can I do?" 

He watched her carefully as she rolled her head from side to side, massaging her neck. Her thoughts rolling like gears from behind. Every neck roll was like a creak of gears. He waited until Cara glanced over her shoulder, "Spar with me." She ordered simply.

Aaron's eyebrows furrowed and he motioned down at his outfit. He was fully dressed in his G Man uniform with a full suit and tie, "I'm not dressed to spar, Cara."

She shrugged, brushing past him with a nonchalant smirk, "Just take off your tie and shoes, G man." She spun around as she crossed the doorway with her tongue sticking out between her teeth and a fair natured smirk on her lips, "What? You afraid to get beat up by a girl?"

Aaron contemplated his options for a few moments. On one hand, this could be a catalyst for Cara's forgiveness and might get him back into her good graces much faster than expected. It would be a lot less work on his part. On the other hand, Cara probably just wanted an excuse to punch him in the face without getting into trouble with him or Gideon. Gideon hated it when Cara went rogue on unsubs, much less fellow agents. No matter what her relationship with them was:ex-boyfriend, ex-partner, etc. 

Still- he decided on the path of least resistance and walked towards the sparring mat where Cara was stretching her limbs and kicking off her shoes. Aaron followed suit, shedding his jacket, tie, and shoes. When they first met, Aaron was absolutely terrified to get onto the mat with her. He had singlehandedly witnessed her throw a man twice her weight over her shoulder with utter ease. He had seen her smash doors with a kick and express more rage and power than most full grown men have in a single lifetime. What Cara lacked in tact, grace, and emotional control - she made up for in intelligence and sheer combat power. Cara was a monster in hand to hand but she liked Aaron enough to teach him.

Cara had taught Aaron plenty of moves from a collection of martial art styles that she thought suited him. She was skilled in Karate, Hapkido, Akido, Judo, Tai Chi, and about a few dozen more combat styles that she had been learning since she could walk. Cara had a lifetime of fighting beaten into her since she was five and she wasted no time in making a student out of Aaron. She focused on teaching him a combination of moves made up of Krav Maga, Judo, and Jujitsu. However, Aaron was fairly positive it was done to ensure that he wasn't a liability to her in the field. Of course, Cara still had the upper ground in the ways of more choreographed fighting styles and weapon mastery, but at least now he knew the most effective way to throw Cara over his shoulder. Not that she wasn't 100% capable of returning the favor right back. 

They stood on opposite sides of the mat. Cara had kicked off her shoes and socks and tightened her ponytail while Aaron rolled up his sleeves and untucked his shirt. Both of them bended their knees and getting into beginning stances. However, it was Cara who attacked first. She always preferred to be on the offensive.

Her fist shot out- directly aimed towards Aaron's head. He ducked down, narrowly skimming her fist as her knee rose to clock him in the nose. Aaron let out a strangled yelp as he tipped to the side, barely managing to dodge her second part attack with his clumsy maneuver. Her calf scrapped up the side of his face and he rolled to the side and leapt up to his feet again. Cara was still standing with her fists pulled back at her side. "Aiming to break my nose?"

Cara lowered herself into a crouched with one hand on the mat. A smirk tugged up at the left corner of her lips, "Something like that."

Aaron snorted before taking a bull drive towards her with two arms and scooped her off her feet with both arms around her waist for a quick suplex to the ground. He bent backwards to pile drive her to the floor. Aaron braced for impact before he realized it would never come. He looked up at Cara to realize that she had both hands on the mat with her foot flat on his groin.

"Oh fu-"

Suddenly Cara kicked off where it counts and Aaron recoiled onto the mat in pain. Cara flipped over back onto her feet and looked down at Aaron who was now rolling on the floor in pain. A crumbled expression wrapped around his face as he guarded his family jewels and called out, claiming himself to finally be down for the count. He groaned loudly, kicking up the theatrics if only to instigate a little more pity from Cara and to cease this massacre of a sparring match. Cara watched him roll around on the floor with a smile and a small laugh came from her lips.

She offered him a hand up, "You okay, boy scout?"

Aaron stopped his rolling looked over at her with a soft stare. His eyes flickered from her face to her hand. A smile tucked up at the corner of his lips before he grabbed her hand and jerked her down to the mat. Her knees buckled and suddenly, Aaron was able to bring her down onto the mat with him- leaving her sprawled right on his stomach. He trapped her in a weak head lock... but she didn't make any effort to fight back.

Instead she let out a huff and turned around so that she was on her back and her head was resting on his stomach. The match was over.

Both of them had lost.

"I heard your replacement is a former member of SWAT. Like you." Cara hummed as she picked up his arm from across her chest and played with his fingers. "A real hot head and a jaggoff according to his personnel file." She snorted with a laugh. Her head rested on Aaron's stomach. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of her head rising and falling in time with his heavy breaths. He hummed slightly and the vibrations coaxed a small smile out of her. "My point being..." Cara paused for a few moments, "I'm gonna be fine, Aaron."

Aaron huffed in annoyance, "If you're gonna be fine then why are you mad at me?"

Cara's hand shot out and lightly batted him on the face, "Because-! Idiot! You're leaving me! I can supportive and hate the idea at the same time." She huffed in return. Her eyes rolled with a laugh. "You're my partner... you are always going to be my partner but it's not going to be the same. You know that." Cara sighed with a deep breathe. "It won't be the same coming into work without you, having no one waiting for me when I get back. No one to drag on those long road trips I don't want to take by myself. I won't be the same without my best friend." Her words like a ghost in the air. 

"I'm your best friend?" Aaron asked suddenly with a cheeky smile and feigned surprise.

Cara hit him again, "You're my only friend, idiot."

This time Aaron grabbed her hand and began to play with her fingers. Cara laughed and he knew... he just knew that he had been forgiven. Even if she hadn't expressly admitted it just yet. Cara looked at him with a laugh on her lips, "The BS Unit just won't be the same without you in it. You know, it's my firm belief that God doesn't make a lot of men capable of doing what we do."

"So it's suddenly my god given duty to stay?" Aaron snorted at Cara- knowing that she knew that he didn't believe in her god- not **really** anyway.

Cara sat up before shrugging her shoulders with a sigh. She grimaced slightly underneath her breathe, "You could consider it your one favor to humanity."

* * *

**| PRESENT DAY |**

"He never told me..." JJ whispered softly as she watched Hotch stare out the window from across the plane. A rather pale look on her face as she looked at the man who she had been working with for almost five years now. "I joined the BAU in 2004 and I thought we were friends but I never... I never even heard about this Agent Bramente." She whispered rather ruefully. Hotch and JJ had a special relationship- not synonymous with having a partner but she at least thought he trusted her. Endless nights they had spent together pouring over cases and sharing small pieces of themselves over Chinese takeout and early morning coffee that was so fresh it should've been boiling. "Five years and he didn't even mention her name. I didn't even know he had a partner." There was a strange sense of betrayal going through her at the thought of it. Friends tell friends about former partners or at least about the fact that they had one at all. Over half a decade of midnight coffees, lunches, and work dinners and she had never even heard Cara's name.

Rossi shook his head, turning around to look back at Aaron who was still staring out the window, "Cara is a very special part of Aaron's past. It's enough that he could never forget her, but not enough that he would tell everyone about her." He hums softly, making sure to keep his voice low enough that Aaron wouldn't hear them talk across the plane, "She's his greatest failure. The one victim he never brought home dead or alive..."

"Not to mention Hotch is super private and your typical Alpha Male. Any sign of weakness or vulnerability on his part is biologically just not part of his nature especially to a female. No matter how close he may consider someone- if they weren't privy to such private knowledge it's against his psychological archetype to share such information." Spencer whispered in his best form of comfort to JJ who smiled softly at his words. JJ wasn't so much as upset that Hotch hadn't trusted her with this fact- but more so that she had portrayed herself as untrustworthy to her boss and friend... and she hadn't even noticed it.

"Thanks Spence." JJ replied softly, almost half meaning it.

From behind them, Emily and Derek were sitting together with shared files sitting on the table between them. Emily couldn't help but listen in on the conversation with burning ears. She could barely understand their words over the roar of the plane's engines speeding through the skies- but she was managing. She couldn't help but watch Derek with shifty, suspicious eyes almost as though she was trying to figure out what more secrets he knew about their boss' current situation... well not almost... that was exactly what she was doing.

"What, Emily?" Derek murmured softly, barely even looking up from the file in his hand.

Emily sucked in a deep breathe as she glanced over at Hotch was sitting sideways by himself in a chair, staring out the window with the file in his hand and his chin in the other. His mind wasn't on the case. It was definitely somewhere else and it didn't take a profiler to notice. She leaned forward and lowered her voice so even the trio behind her wouldn't be able to hear. "Derek... be honest with me... is this Cara Bramente thing- is it going to be an issue? I'm just... I'm just worried about Hotch." She clarified. Everyone was because let's be honest, it wasn't easy for Hotch to get shaken up. It wasn't a sight to see or an easy one at that, 

Derek took in a deeper breathe, "Emily, you know Hotch can get the case done no matter what and he won't appreciate us coddling him like some sick puppy during this case either." He reminded her softly. His eyes too on their Unit Chief to be sure that he wasn't secretly listening in on the conversation. "Through divorce, death, and sickness - he's our fearless leader.

"Yeah but what about him? Is he going to be okay? Would he even tell us if he wasn't okay?"

A pause. "I don't know Em. She was his partner. Garcia told me and Rossi that he's been looking at her old files just reminiscing but that was months ago." His eyes flickered over the words, not quite reading it and not quite focusing on the papers in front of him. "Wounds that cut deep are always fresh."

"Alright, we're about to land. Let's group up."

Every head in the plane turned as Hotch stood up and everyone adjusted in the small plane and self arranged into a small circle. All of them with their respective files in hand. Hotch had his opened up in one hand at the center case file, "There's been three victims already, all females and all redheads. A baby, an eleven year old girl, and a teenager. All of them have been members of the Bramente family and have all been killed in the same manner as Chicago Butcher case from 10 years ago."

"Are we looking at a copycat?" Morgan asked from his seat.

"My opinion points to no." Rossi's voice rumbled with displeasure, "The victimology is usually the most important part of the kill for copycats, however the Chicago Butcher's victimology was target based. They killed specific people with specific significance to them. A baby, a child, and a teenager? What sort of wrongdoings could these girls have done to mirror that of the Chicago Butcher's motives? The victimology is completely different."

"So the significance lies in how they were killed..." Emily hummed. Hotch's head turned with a pointed look.

"What makes you say that?"

"Different females but all killed in the same way. The killer is following a progression but with each kill is maintaining the method and manner of kill as well as the hair color and family of the victims." Emily looked up at Hotch who was staring at her with his infamous steely glare. He wasn't quite angry, but if Emily didn't have a good motivation for saying what he thought she was saying- then she wouldn't be doing herself any favors. Emily cleared her throat, "What I'm trying to say is... I think we need to investigate the Bramente family?"

Rossi let out a low whistle, "Oh good luck with that..."

Ten minutes later the plane landed on the tarmac and came to a stop near a caravan of black SUVs. A gathering of men and women dressed in black were gathered by the cars as though they were waiting for a dead body to arrive. At the very center of the group stood a tall man with red hair and thick sunglasses that failed to hide the grim look on his face. The usual welcome party of police officers and acting detectives were missing.

Only the morgue parade seemed to be present.

Rossi and Hotch were peering through the port window in front of the door as they waited for the stairs to reach the plan, "Is that-?" Rossi started as he looked through the window. A visual image of dread flowed through Hotch's expression.

"Yup. That's him. Hasn't changed a bit since I last saw him..."

"Him?" Morgan piped up. His dark eyebrows dipping into his trademark concern.

"That..." Hotch announced with a pause, "Is Police Chief Carlisle Bramente and the current acting Don of the Bramente Family Mafia... he hates me." Everyone's heads jerked towards Hotch with alarmed expressions and worry. "He still holds me responsible for his twin sister's death... Carolina Bramente."


	7. Greet Your Demons

Carlisle and Carolina Bramente were always the spitting image of one another. Dark red hair, pale skin, deep brown eyes, and an impeccable bone structure. They stood the same way when they were angry as well. Their hands in their pockets and feet shoulder length a part with a glare that could burn holes into a steel door. Hotch's team followed him as they walked off the plane and onto the tarmac. Carlisle Bramente stood eye to eye with Aaron Hotchner and Emily was curious to see who might blink first. Hotch stopped a meter away from Carlisle with a thin line for lips. "Arlo." Hotch greeted cooly.

"Don Bramente." Carlisle corrected he looked to the ground with a dark look in his eyes, "I took the position after the last trial."

Hotch nodded, "I was there."

"I saw you."

Another tension filled silence.

Both sides stood there waiting for their leaders to make the next move as the night air moved around them. They had landed the jet in a small private airport in the middle of the night. The lights were low and the tarmac was barely illuminated by overhead spotlights, car headlights, and guide lights on the runway. It gave the landscape a rather otherworldly look.

"I told you," Carlisle started, "if you stepped foot in Chicago again that I would have you executed on sight."

"Yet here I am..." 

A tense silence held between them like iced out jello. Slimy and impossible to move through. Spencer was unconsciously holding his breathe as he watched the two men stare each other down. The young don took in a deep breathe, "And yet here you are."

They all stood in silence for a few moments. Rossi would later remark that it reminded him of a Mexican standoff with both men ready to draw their gun at any moments notice. However, this was a business agreement and both men were nothing if not professionally.

After a few long moments, Carlisle eventually gave a slow blink before turning to the man next to him who pulled out a file from his jacket and handed it to his Don who then handed it to Hotch, "Compliments of the local police force. I had them collect necessary information to compile with my own investigation for you to create your persona items." Carlisle huffed as he begrudgingly handed over the file.

"Profile." Rossi corrected from behind as Hotch promptly opened the file and poured through the contents.

"You've had another murder since this morning."

Carlisle let out a heavy sigh, "Valentina Bramente - she was my second cousin. The murder did a little work to her before her death too apparently..." He looked over at Hotch as he flipped to the photograph of the body. Hotch stopped walking immediately and looked up at Carlisle.

"He dyed her hair?"

* * *

* * *

Morgan and Reid went ahead to the crime scene to see if they could scoop up any clues while the rest of the team rode with Carlisle Bramente to the precinct to get set up. The Police Chief had offered Hotch a personal ride which was politely declined out of suspicions of an assassination attempt of a grudge not yet forgotten. They instead used the federal provided SUVs and followed closely behind. Hotch found himself unintentionally looking out the window at the scenery around him. The last time he was here, he kept a low enough profile that he wouldn't have been found. He got in and got out- but taking the time to look at the city brought back bittersweet memories of his partner's home and moments that were all too familiar.

They drove through the streets and stopped at a light next to an unassuming dive bar referred to as _The Red Lady_ \- Hotch had only been allowed once and was graced with the information of that dingy bar being the headquarters of the Bramente Family. They had a more official hideout at the center of the city. But the Red Lady was where the head family lived and where they met for Sunday dinner. A weekly occasion that Hotch had been begrudgingly invited to by Cara's uncle. He found his eyes lingering on the flickering neon sign of a redheaded woman sitting in a tipping over martini glass. It flickered as her leg kicked in and out with hazy disarray. 

The light turned green. Hotch said nothing.

They eventually arrived back at the precinct. Hotch made subtle notice that the majority of the officers either had the trademark Bramente red hair or the last name plastered on their name tag. Chicago had been overwhelmed by the mafia but lucky for them- no crime had been proven by SSA Hotchner just yet. He was instead focused on solving the case and getting out of Chicago as soon as possible. It wasn't until he was driving through the city that Hotch realized just how much of Chicago reminded him of Cara. He remembered her dragging him into a local Deep Dish Pizza joint or taking him through the park to see all her favorite spots. This entire city reeked of Carolina Bramente. He hadn't quite remembered that until now.

A part of him was eager to forget.

Hotch subconsciously clutched his shoulder in deep thought. His thumb traced a gunshot scar in slow circles. His head was lost in bittersweet memories.

"Hotchner."

Hotch spun around at the sound of his name. Carlisle was pointing to a door labeled _Morgue_,"You coming to check out the body?"

The SSA took in a subtle deep breathe before nodding. He glanced over at Rossi and motioned for him to join him downstairs in the morgue. They all walked downstairs. The flickering lights illuminated their decent into the basement where the familiar smell of cleaning fluids and medical supplies wafted into their senses. Hotch had gotten used to it but he did well not to take in too much of a deep breath. Downstairs an unassuming M.E. with tied back chestnut hair was examining the body with earnest. "The killer dyed her hair before she died." The woman said immediately.

She stood up to look at the three men - answering a question that had quite obviously been posed hours ago. Her eyes on Carlisle, "According to my findings- the killer bleached her hair hours before she died and dyed it to this particular vibrant teal. The killer was very meticulous in Valentina's _makeover_." The woman said- using air quotes as she spoke. Rossi's eyebrows creased together as he walked closer to the body.

"This is quite the deviation from the M.O. considering the killer has only been killing redheads until now. Was she-"

"A redhead?" She nodded, "Originally, yes." She pulled out a small strand from the back to reveal deep read roots on the victim's head. "However, other than the hair- this victim follows the pattern he's been leaving behind. She's a few years older than the last one, same body type, family, blood type- all the same." The woman sighed as she wiped down her tools and stared solemnly at the body, "She was so young... bright thing too. You've got to catch this guy, Arlo."

Carlisle sighed, "Believe me, Mitch. I'm trying." He grumbled before he looked at the face of the dead girl again. Remorse painted all over his features, "Was she alive when he drained her blood?"

The M.E. sighed softly, "No. Thank god. He killed her before he strung her up and slit her throat. Just like a butcher." The last sentence was spoken with a gentle touch of distaste.

The three men stared at the body in respective silence. You could almost hear the cogs moving through their heads as they stared at the young woman who's life was cut far too short. Hotch spoke first, "Can you walk us through how she died?"

According to the M.E. Valentina had been leaving been walking with the killer struck her from behind. He took her to a secluded location- and performed his makeover there. Afterwards he shot her between the eyes, slit her neck, and strung her up where she was bound to be found by a member of the Bramente family. That was the fact that was bothering Hotch so much - someone was aiming to hurt the Bramente family but they were only choosing women of a certain age, body type, and hair color. Even then- they're made up to look a certain way after the fact. It was as the thought the killer was trying to send them a message of some sort. 

As though they were making a statement with these bodies.

"Let's head up. Mitch- send up your findings once your done." Arlo commanded. He was the first to leave and walk up the stairs. Rossi glanced over at Hotch and both followed behind in suit. This case felt odd. Hotch wasn't sure what it was but he could feel it in his gut that there was something important that he was missing about this case. Something that was staring him right in the face. The time between killings had been shortened to 48hrs which means they had two days before another young woman was going to be strung up in the streets for them to find.

When Morgan and Reid returned, they didn't have much more information with them. Only facts that everyone knew. Prentiss and JJ began to interview families, Morgan and Reid created a canvas, while Rossi went through the evidence and directed Garcia in a search of butcher or people with the medical skills to pull such precise murders. All the while, Aaron Hotchner stood in front of the bulletin board with his arms crossed and his patent glare glued to the images pinned up for him. He was focused and determined to find the link that he was missing because he knew- from the moment this file landed on his desk-that he was missing something very important.

But what was it?

"Hotch."

Aaron's head shot up to look at Morgan who was handing him a coffee. It was already dark outside and most of the team had left. Aside from the casual dinner break and coffee- Hotch had been staring and rearranging the board in earnest for over five hours. He was lost in the photos and words that ached of something familiar but un reachable by the grasp of his mind. He was missing something so glaringly obvious that anyone could see it. What was he missing? What was he ignoring?

Eventually however, Hotch did give up, "What's up?" He asked. A sigh hinging off on the edge of his sentence as he looked at Morgan.

"We've deduced that the killer was in some sort of field where they have an expertise in killing. However in this town that number comes up to a lot including criminals, butchers, and medical professionals. We've asked Garcia to narrow it down to anyone with a grudge against the Bramentes. But while we're waiting- Me and JJ are heading back to the hotel and we're taking the last car."

Hotch nodded as he collected his things, "I'm right behind you." He nodded as the two of them walked towards the car. He glanced behind his shoulder once last time. As though it was going to scream a resounding phrase that would tie everything together.

It didn't.

In the car, Hotch took the wheel with Morgan in the passenger seat and JJ in the back. He smiled and nodded politely as JJ asked Derek if he was going to visit his family while he was in town and Derek laughed about how he better if he didn't want both his sisters to smack him upside the head. "I never actually came to this part of town when I was a kid." Derek remarked half-hazardly as he glanced around the other side of town. They were currently in the uptown part of Chicago. Where crimes were committed by the Mafia and put down by the Chief of D's himself- who just so happened to be part of the mafia here in Chicago. On this part of town, money, drugs, and other prolific crimes were plenty. It was easily described as the classiest of shit shows.

Eventually Hotch pulled into the valet parking of the hotel they were being put up at. Once he tossed the keys to the valet, he nodded to JJ and Derek before making a beeline to his hotel room. He was exhausted. There was something about this case that reminded him of Cara but he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud until he had finite proof. He had already promised the team that he would be able to remain objective and focused during this case. However, coming up with the first idea in his head and pointing it straight at the reason he was so shaky in the first place - was not going to make a good impression on the team.

Hotch laid on his back atop the plush hotel bed. He felt himself drifting away to sleep as exhaustion took over.

* * *

* * *

_**In his dream**, he was standing outside the Red Lady. He glanced an image of his reflection in the window and could see that he was ten years younger and none the wiser. He could hear gentle singing inside as the neon woman above him kicked out her leg and invited him inside. He pushed open the doors to find the familiar red light which illuminated the bar. He walked down the dark stairs and followed the light. Inside, the Red Lady was decorated with tall red velvet walls and hand painted paintings of every prevalent member of the family. The black leather booths were kept empty and the only people he could see was the piano player playing jazz on the lacquered stage, the bartender idly cleaning glasses, and a woman with long bleach blonde hair who was kicking her heel to the beat of music._

_He knew immediately who she was._

_Aaron walked towards her. His steps hastened and steady at the same time. "Cara..." He said suddenly. His eyes opened wide in confusion and excitement at the woman in front of him. She spun around and immediately her platinum blonde locks melted into a familiar red. He let out a smile of relief as though he had found what he had been looking for all this time, "What are you- What are you doing here?" He asked. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he stared down at the woman in front of him. She looked as young as she was the day she left him. Her face was perfectly frozen in time and forever unchanged. She was perfect._

_Cara cocked her head to the side and let out a loud laugh- one that Aaron hadn't heard in years, "You tell me!" She chimed, motioning for him to sit down next to her. She took a swig of her whiskey with a contented sigh. "You brought me here, BoyScout." She hummed. Aaron watched with a blissful gaze as the woman he loved leaned back and relished in the familiar air. "My god- it's been so long since I've been in Chicago. I've forgotten how much I love being home" She breathed with a smile. _

_Aaron was content to watch her before she turned around and looked at him. Her eyes suddenly turned sad. In the light, Aaron couldn't tell if they were brown or green. There was a gentle haze over her face that prevented him from seeing her but somehow... he still knew she was sad. He could see it in her eyes._

_Cara reached up and cupped his cheek, "You've gotten older, Aaron..." She let out a small laugh, "Look at those frown lines... you haven't been very kind to yourself." She mused softly. She pressed her hand into the skin of his cheek and Aaron couldn't help but lean into her touch. He missed her. He missed the sound of her voice and touch of her skin. He couldn't help the involuntary smile that tugged up at the corner of his lips. Parts of him had forgotten what it was like to be held in her gentle touch. He was forgetting her and she could tell._

_Cara hummed once more, "Though I suppose that's what happens after you die. The world keeps spinning. The world replaces you."_

_"No one could replace you, Cara." His words were deep and sudden and genuine. He looked at her with a smile, "I could never forget you, Cara. Not really."_

_The woman smiled sadly and pulled away from his skin with a sigh. Cara propped her elbow up on the table and rested her chin on her hand. She looked over at the mirror behind the bar and caught sight of her own reflection. A huffed laugh tugged from her lips, "You remember me all wrong, Aaron." She looked over at him pointedly, "I was never this pretty."_

_Aaron rolled his eyes, "The only person who didn't believe you were pretty was you. Everyone knew it and I knew it." He leaned back in his chair and Cara pushed her glass of whiskey towards him with three fingers and a smile. He lifted the cup with a rim covered in peach lipstick. He could almost smell her on it. The scent wafted into his senses more vividly than it ever had in the past decade. He looked at her, "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." He whispered as he took a sip._

_Cara frowned, "But you're not seeing me Aaron. I'm not here. I couldn't possibly be here."_

_Her voice sounded far away._

_"You never found me Aaron.... why can't you see me? Why can't you find me?"_

**KNOCK**

**KNOCK**

**KNOCK**

Hotch woke with a start and a cold sweat dripping down his forehead. He was back in his hotel room and looking at the neon green digital clock that read '3:00am'. He rubbed his eyes wondering if he had imagined the knocking on his door. A migraine was growing in back of his head as pain developed behind his eyes.

**KNOCK**

Hotch's eyebrows furrowed before he walked to the door and looked through the peephole. A heavy sigh heaved in his chest before he turned the lock and opened the door. Hotch was smart and he knew that his midnight visitor would not hurt hum today. "It's 3am... what are you doing here?" 


End file.
